Toy musical instrument



23, 1949- .1. L. GOLDSTEIN ET AL 2,479,738

TOY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed NOV. 20, 1946 I N V EN TORS Ala/flew A. fru/rgar JeromeLGo/dsfem ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 23, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Jerome L. Goldstein and Mathew A. Strumor, New Rochelle, N. Y-

Application November 20, 1946, Serial No. 711,120

3 Claims.

This invention relates to toy whistles or wind instruments and aims to provide a novel, practical and entertaining toy of the class mentioned, which is adapted to play a tune when blown into, and which is simple in construction and inexpensive in cost of manufacture.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a turn table or the like on which one of an interchangeable plurality of what might be termed records is adapted to be mounted, in conjunction with air operated means for rotating the table simultaneously with the sounding of the notes of the tune occasioned by blowing into the instrument.

The above as well as additional objects will become apparent in the following description wherein characters of reference refer to likenumbered parts in the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing is furnished for the purpose of illustration only and that it I is neither desired nor intended to limit the invention to any or all of the specific details of construction shown.

Referring briefly to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the toy instrument, with parts broken away and partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral I indicates a casing or frame having the two parts or housings I I and I2, the latter being in the form of a trumpet or tube adapted to be held in the mouth and blown into through its entrance end I4.

The housing II is formed integrally with the tube I2 or joined rigidly thereto, along the line I4, and is preferably provided with a flat bottom I5 and is largely substantially or approximately cup-shaped. In plan View the husing II is substantially circular, except for the connecting portion 20 and attached by a hinge I6 to its outer wall I1 is a substantially convex lid or cover I8. The end I 9 of the tube I2 opposite the mouth end I3 is reduced substantially as shown, to provide communication between the tube I2 and the housing II. The cover is adapted to rest frictionally in the circular opening 2I of the housing II when in closed position.

A horn outlet is formed in the lid I8 diametrically opposite the hinge I 6 and above the opening I9. A staff 22 is rotatably mounted in the floor II and has at its upper end an enlargement or table 23 provided with an upwardly projecting 5 square boss 24. The cover I8 is provided with a downwardly projecting boss 25 in vertical alignment with the boss 24, but terminating, with the cover in closed position, at a short distance above the boss 24.

A pulley 23 is rigid on the staff 22. A shaft 21 is rotatably mounted in the tube I2 parallel with the staff 22, and is provided with fan blades or vanes 28; the shaft 21 extends downward into the floor 5 5 of the connecting housing 20, and near its lower end is provided with a pulley 29 rigid thereon. A belt 30 connects the pulleys 29 and 26.

A cylindrical hollow record 3I comprises a pair of opposed discs or Walls 32 and 33, the former being provided with spaced radial slots 34 therethrough. Each of the radial slots 34 has a reed 35, of which but one is shown, anchored therein in the common manner of such wind instruments as harmonicas. The cylindrical wall 36 of the record 3| has a plurality of openings therethrough, arranged so that each opening 37 is in alignment with one slot 34. Separating the slots 34 from each other are upright radial walls 38.

The slots and reeds of a given record 3| will be so constructed as, when rotated while air is passing through one reed at a time at a given point, the record will emit a tune or melody, in the well known manner. The record is removably mounted on the turn table 23, with the central square opening 39 through the record registering about the boss 24. As the reduced opening I9 is of substantially the same dimensions as the openings 31, and as, with the record in place and the lid closed the wall 36 of the record lies in the same plane as the opening I9, it is apparent that air passing from the tube I2 through the opening I9 will enter successive openings 31 as the record rotates. The air which enters an opening 3'! is confined by the radial walls 38 to exit through the slot 34 between those walls, thus giving off a note which is emitted through the horn 40. The air blown into the tube I2, in addition to causing the emission of musical notes as stated, simultaneously causes the fan to rotate and thus, as is obvious, to rotate the table 23 and the record. A wall 4| is provided within the tube I2, or any other construction which attains the same end may be substituted therefor, to direct the air blown into the tube to one side of the fan 28 to facilitate rotation thereof.

Thus, each time the record makes a complete turn the tune or melody of that record will be played, and different records bearing a variety of tunes may be provided for interchangeability with the record shown.

The actuation of the record by the means shown simplifies the operation of the toy, and the changing of a record is obviously a very simple operation. The cover boss 35 serves to keep the record from falling from the table if the toy is tilted far out of the horizontal.

Obviously, modifications may be made in form and structure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A toy of the class described, comprising a housing having a tube secured to one end thereof, said housing being substantially circular in plan view and having a reduced opening thereinto from said tube, said housing having a floor, a staff rotat bly mounted on said floor and havin a turn table thereon, said table being adapted to have a slotted and reeded wind operated musical drum mounted thereon,said drum having openings through the side wall thereof and lying in the same plane as said reduced opening with said reduced opening adjacent said wall, said housing having a lid hinged thereto and having a horn outlet therein, a shaft rotatably mounted in and extending below said tube, said shaft having fan vanes thereon within said tube, pulleys on said staif and shaft, a belt trained about said pulleys.

in said recess to restrain said drum from slipping on said table, said lid having a downwardly extending boss adapted to register over said firstnamed boss to prevent said drum from falling off said table upon tilting of the toy.

JEROME L. GOLDSTEIN. MATHEW A. STRUMOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Schoenner Mar. 26, 1889 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Mar. 12, 1902 Number Number 

